“The way he passes the ball, you look at quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers that just have a gift,” Pelinka said. “There’s clearly a gift with what he’s been blessed with. We knew on a basketball standpoint there were no questions.”

To clear the way for Ball, the Lakers traded D’Angelo Russell, whom the Lakers drafted second overall two years ago to be their point guard.

“D’Angelo was an excellent player; hey, he has the talent to be an All-Star,” Johnson said. “But what I needed was a leader. I needed somebody also that can make the other players better.”

Johnson has first-hand knowledge of what it takes to be the kind of passer who makes teammates better. He was drafted to do just that by the Lakers in 1979. He joined a talented, veteran team and helped it win a championship in his rookie year.

Ball’s challenge will be different. The Lakers fully intend to fill their roster with star-caliber veterans, but don’t expect to be able to truly do that until the summer of 2018 with its robust free-agent class.

The trade that sent Russell to the Brooklyn Nets also sent Timofey Mozgov and his contract worth more than $16 million per year for the next three years. In return they received Brook Lopez, a good player who fits the Lakers’ system, but also one whose expiring contract will help the Lakers have room under the salary cap to fit two max contracts next summer.

“We know that the goal here is to compete for championships, that’s what we wanted to do and with the leading teams in the league today, to be able to look them in the eye and challenge them, we need two superstar players to come here and join this platform and join our core group of guys here,” Pelinka said. “And that’s our plan and we’re going to put all of our energy and all of our handiwork toward that.”

The Lakers are the frontrunners to land Indiana’s Paul George, a 27-year-old Southern California native who has made clear he wants to play for the Lakers. That could still happen via trade, or in free agency next summer. LeBron James is also expected to become a free agent next summer.

But two superstars alone aren’t enough to compete for championships. The NBA champion Golden State Warriors have four stars — Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. The Cleveland Cavaliers have three in James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

That’s where this year’s draft comes in. In Ball, the Lakers are hoping they’ve drafted the third.

tania.ganguli@latimes.com